Steunpunt Diversiteit & Leren

What Steunpunt Diversiteit & Leren does

Steunpunt Diversiteit & Leren, now branded as Expertisecentrum Taal, Diversiteit & Leren, is an R&D center embedded within Universiteit Gent's Faculty of Arts and Philosophy in Flanders, Belgium. Operating at the intersection of linguistics, educational sciences, and sociology, the center pursues the mission of improving learning and development opportunities for every learner, with particular attention to vulnerable populations and multilingual students. It serves three primary customer segments: primary and secondary schools in Flanders (the core audience), teacher training institutions, and educational policy makers. The center delivers vision development, research, material development, and training, coaching, and consultancy services.

The product portfolio comprises validated screening instruments (DISCO - a validated diversity screening instrument measuring teacher attitudes and self-efficacy across 2 attitude and 5 self-efficacy dimensions, validated with 1,000+ student teachers and 600 practicing teachers; LexPro, a plurilingual lexical profiling tool published in LANGUAGE TEACHING RESEARCH in 2025), educational websites (TACOS for preschool language-stimulating competencies, Meertaligheid.be on multilingualism, Van basis naar secundair for school transitions), and practical tools (Talenpaspoort language passport, Toolkit Gender op School, Re:flex ethnic diversity reflection tool, Kalender Talige Diversiteit op School publication). The organization has a team of 9 employees, including four full professors and a PhD researcher.

The business model is non-commercial: the organization provides free access to research-based materials, tools, and publications via its website, with consultancy and coaching services to schools and educational institutions provided on a likely contract basis. Revenue is not publicly disclosed, and the center is funded through institutional budgets and project grants as a standard university R&D center model. Key partnerships include Onderwijscentrum Gent, KU Leuven's Centrum voor Taal en Onderwijs, the Transbaso interuniversity consortium, and implementation partnerships with Stad Oostende and Stad Sint-Niklaas for DISCO rollout.

Name

Steunpunt Diversiteit & Leren

Legal name

Expertisecentrum Taal, Diversiteit & Leren

Website

https://steunpuntdiversiteitenleren.be

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Steunpunt Diversiteit & Leren is a university-affiliated R&D center at Universiteit Gent in Flanders, Belgium, developing validated instruments, tools, and materials on language acquisition, diversity, and inclusive education for Flemish schools, teacher training institutions, and educational policy makers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Research and Consulting Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

English Learner (EL/ESL/ELL) & Bilingual Education Programs (EDAJAGAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Multilingual/ELL Special Education & IEP Support (EDAKACAN), Co-Teaching & In-Class Instructional Support (Specialist Teachers) (EDAKABAA), English Learners with Disabilities (ELD/ESL Special Education) Materials (EDAGAMAL)

Keywords

• Educational research services
• Diversity screening instruments
• Language acquisition research
• Teacher professional development
• Inclusive education consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Gent

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Steunpunt Diversiteit & Leren is an R&D center at Universiteit Gent that develops and disseminates research-based educational tools, validated screening instruments, classroom materials, and training/coaching/consultancy services for schools and educators. Its core offerings include the DISCO validated diversity-screening instrument for teachers, language-stimulating resources such as TACOS and the Kalender Talige Diversiteit, multilingualism platforms (Meertaligheid.be, Van basis naar secundair), and customized consultancy on diversity policy and inclusive education for primary, secondary, and teacher-training institutions in Flanders.

Product overview

Steunpunt Diversiteit & Leren (now Expertisecentrum Taal, Diversiteit & Leren) is an R&D center at Ghent University operating at the intersection of linguistics, educational sciences, and sociology. The organization offers a portfolio of vision development, research, material development, and training/coaching/consultancy services. Their product portfolio includes validated screening instruments (DISCO), educational websites (TACOS, Meertaligheid.be, Van basis naar secundair), practical tools (Talenpaspoort, Toolkit Gender op School, Re:flex), publications (Kalender Talige Diversiteit), and research initiatives (Gelaagdheid in differentiatie). These offerings are interconnected through shared themes of language acquisition, diversity in education, inclusive teaching practices, and teacher professional development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• DISCO - Diversiteitsscreening Onderwijs

Quantifiable outcome

• DISCO instrument validated with over 1,000 student teachers and 600 practicing teachers across multiple rounds of statistical validation

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Onderwijscentrum GentcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Partnership for the meertaligheid.be website. Onderwijscentrum Gent now manages and maintains the website, providing updates in 2025. The platform provides information and materials on multilingualism for educators, parents, and professionals working with multilingual children.
• Centrum voor Taal en Onderwijs (KU Leuven)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeading research and support partner on multilingualism in Flanders. Collaborated on the meertaligheid.be website refresh in 2017, bringing expertise in language and education research.
• Agentschap Integratie en InburgeringsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment agency partner for the meertaligheid.be platform, bringing integration and inclusion expertise to the multilingual resources ecosystem.
• AtlassupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization contributing to the multilingualism resources platform, providing expertise in educational support services.
• FoyersupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner contributing to the multilingualism resources platform with expertise in working with multilingual families and communities.
• Transbaso ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInteruniversity research consortium (2014-2018) studying transitions from primary to secondary education, establishing connections between teacher expectations and student study choices.
• Stad OostendesupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCity of Oostende partnered with SDL for the DISCO diversity screening consultancy and guidance trajectory in education, implementing the validated assessment instrument in local schools.
• Stad Sint-NiklaassupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCity of Sint-Niklaas partnered with SDL for the DISCO diversity screening consultancy and guidance trajectory, implementing diversity assessments in municipal schools.

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Onderwijscentrum Gent: Gent-based educational support center that manages and maintains the meertaligheid.be website jointly with SDL. Directly comparable as a Flanders-based educational support organization serving schools with multilingualism resources.
• Centrum voor Taal en Onderwijs (KU Leuven): KU Leuven's Centre for Language and Education is a leading Flemish research and support partner on multilingualism. SDL explicitly collaborates with CTO on the meertaligheid.be platform, making it a directly comparable Flemish university-based multilingualism R&D center.
• UCL Centre for Applied Linguistics: University College London's applied linguistics research center conducting academic research on language learning, multilingualism, and assessment. Comparable as a university-based applied linguistics R&D unit producing peer-reviewed multilingualism research.

Emerging players

• Babbel for Education: Commercial language-learning platform with an education vertical serving schools and educators. Comparable in addressing language acquisition in educational settings, but operating as a commercial product rather than a research center.

Others

• Agentschap Integratie en Inburgering: Flemish government agency focused on integration and inclusion, partnered with SDL on multilingualism resources. Comparable as a Flemish government-backed entity developing integration and inclusion materials for educators and newcomers, though operating as an agency rather than an R&D center.
• OECD Directorate for Education and Skills: International policy body producing evidence-based research and frameworks on education, including diversity, multilingualism, and inclusion. Comparable as a producer of evidence-based educational policy research that informs Flemish and European education practice.

Broad incumbents

• Goethe-Institut: Internationally operating cultural and language institute promoting German language education globally. Comparable in supporting language education and teacher training, though focused on a single language and operating at global scale.
• European Centre for Modern Languages (ECML): Council of Europe center supporting language teaching and learning across Europe. Comparable as a higher-level multilingualism and language education research/support institution, but operating at pan-European scale rather than regionally.
• British Council: UK-based international organization for cultural relations and English language education, including teacher training and educational resources. Comparable as a large-scale language and education support provider, though globally focused.

Regional players

• EUCEN (European University Continuing Education Network): European network for university continuing and professional education, including language and diversity training. Comparable as a network supporting educator professional development, but operating as an EU-wide network rather than a single regional center.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCgoGpcx-1qV6LrCjNZ6T5MQ
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/steunpunt-diversiteit-&-leren

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

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